Cover-Credits:
Baldur’s Gate 3 has finally hit the shelves after a long early access period of three years. The game provides players with an amazing RPG experience coupled with strategic elements such as a turn-based combat mode. The game is currently available on PC via Steam and GOG. If you have purchased the game on PC and you are torn between choosing the Vulkan or the DirectX API, we have got test results that will answer your question. Let’s dive right into it.
Should you use DirectX 11 or Vulkan for Baldur’s Gate 3?
Baldur’s Gate 3 on PC has two different graphical APIs to choose from, DirectX 11 and Vulkan. Thanks to the test made by PC Gamer, we have found the differences between the two. For starters, we must take into account the GPU you are running the game on which is most probably either Nvidia or AMD.
For Nvidia Users
If you are running an Nvidia GPU, the game seems to run better on DirectX 11 which delivers 6-13% higher frame rates than Vulkan. Even though the 1% lows were poorer on DX11 with a 7-12% drop in frame rates, it provided a stable 0.1% lows when compared to the Vulkan API.
If stability is your main concern, it is recommended that you turn on DLSS if you are running a RTX graphics card.
For AMD Users
If you are running an AMD GPU, it is the Vulkan API that provides better performance, with higher frame rates and stable 1% lows, Although the 0.1% lows were still better on DX 11.
If you are running the game on an older AMD card, it is recommended to use FSR if your system is struggling to hit that 60fps mark.
In conclusion, if you are running the game on slightly older hardware regardless of the GPU, we recommend you stick with DX11 for stable performance. However, if you are rocking a relatively new system, Vulkan will offer better performance as it can really benefit from newer hardware.
Also, note that Vulkan will stick to the refresh rate of your OS which means you will have to change your system’s refresh rate if possible. This has not been the case with DX 11.
